Confined air, when saturated with perspirable matter, will not
receive more; and that matter must remain in our bodies, and occasion
diseases; but it gives some previous notice of its being about to be
hurtful, by producing certain uneasiness, slight indeed at first,
which as with regard to the lungs is a trifling sensation, and to the
pores of the skin a kind of restlessness, which is difficult to
describe, and few that feel it know the cause of it. But we may
recollect, that sometimes on waking in the night, we have, if warmly
covered, found it difficult to get asleep again. We turn often
without finding repose in any position. This fidgettiness (to use a
vulgar expression for want of a better) is occasioned wholly by an
uneasiness in the skin, owing to the retention of the perspirable
matter -- the bed-clothes having received their quantity, and, being
saturated, refusing to take any more. To become sensible of this by
an experiment, let a person keep his position in the bed, but throw
off the bed-clothes, and suffer fresh air to approach the part
uncovered of his body; he will then feel that part suddenly
refreshed; for the air will immediately relieve the skin, by
receiving, licking up, and carrying off, the load of perspirable
matter that incommoded it.
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